THIRTEEN"Melinda?" Samantha hollered in surprise as she recognized her. She was ushering the CEO of Reynolds and his workers into her boss' office in Cock and Bulls joint in Nahatan street, one of the bustling areas in Norwood and there was Melinda who was supposedly under the care of her fiancee, looking better than ever as if she was never terribly ill. Melinda recognized the sharp shril of her voice, "Sam." She called back before recognizing the mass of red hair that ushered them in. Ajax and Lohan obstructed the initial view of Samantha. She easily stepped into Sam's embrace as Ajax and Lohan paved way for them."Look at you. Where have you been...oh my gosh..hold up.." Sam was hurrying her words in excitement until realization struck her. Facts actually. One, Melinda just came in with the CEO of Reynolds, two, this infamous CEO was the one who had on behalf of Melinda, called in sick, three, he had claimed to be her fiancee."I can't believe you! You're engaged to..to...""Hell
FourteenHe took backwards steps away from the joy he had just found. He interpreted the look Payne sent her and the mysterious guy by her side correctly. Something was wrong, and if he needed to stay alive and still see his sister, he needed to step away from her. His heart did a little squeeze seeing the confusion and sadness in her eyes. He turned away from her."Collins." Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper as she watched him walk away from her. He was scared of something. Was it Payne? Was it Ajax? "Lind.. you've got to sit down." Ajax tugged at her arm. His eyes didn't leave Payne's as he gritted his teeth. Absently, Melinda eased into her seat as she pondered on what just happened. Was this all a dream? "Mel..damn. Ajax, I think we should leave..." Lucrecia's look of concern grew as she watched Melinda's tears flow freely."Is there a problem?" Marv was back to their table with their meals. Seeing Melinda's state got him curious."Nothing I can't handle." Melinda said, smi
FIFTEEN"Yeah..I remember. I loved animals." She giggled, eyeing the Martini in Collins hand as they relaxed into the rocking chairs on the terrace."You had this rabbit doll you took everywhere with you. Dad had a problem with it. There was this one time you brought your rabbit to dinner. You spilled your milk shake and your rabbit was never white again. You raised hell."" I can't believe I was that troublesome. Was I sweet to Harry and Diana?""Diana was your favourite after your rabbit and your quiet times.""Ouch. Was I such a loner?" She shook her head in disbelief."Yeahh, you loved to sing, look at the sky for a long time, then this dreamy look will be on your face and we would all be wondering what you were thinking about.""Yeah, I still do that. I stopped singing a long while though. What really happened the day I disappeared? It was my birthday..""I should be asking you the same question Celia. You gave us a heart attack. It was your birthday, our parents didn't remember,
SIXTEEN"Ajax?" She continued her quest, she looked through the glass wall separating office from terrace. There was Ajax, standing aloof. In a heartbeat, she raced to the door. "I never sent for you. Why are you here?" He asked before she could announce her presence.Melinda jolted in surprise. Lucrecia would always be Lucrecia and Ajax would always be what he is. "I'm here now. I think that's what matters." She inched closer to him. His back was to her. She needed to see his face. He sniffed."Ajax? Have you been crying?""Nope. Okay...Look, I appreciate your concern but right now, I need to be alone.""Clearly, I can see how you're managing your lone time. I would be limping now if this wasn't an office environment where I have to have my shoes on.""Sorry about that. I needed to break something.""Obviously. Can you turn around already. It's like i'm having a conversation with a talking brick wall." Ajax chuckled. Reluctantly, he let himself give in to Melinda's pull on his hand
SEVENTEEN"There's the man of the house." Collins hollered as Ajax walked towards them. Lucrecia, Owen, Lorren were seated with him around a table close to the pool, sipping their cocktails."Hmmm...look who looks a lot more cheerful." Lucrecia chipped in."I see, you all have met one another." He said as he slipped in a chair before taking a sip from Owen's drink."Now I see where Owen got his madness from." Lorren sent him a sardonic smile as he downed almost all the contents of the tumbler to Owen's chagrin."It wasn't even your drink, queen bee." Owen and Ajax replied simultaneously."Speaking of drinks, I've not had a taste of Reynolds wine. Lucrecia has told me a lot about how you started this winery." Collins said.Ajax flashed a cocky grin. "You lot have been diving into history huh.""Yes Smith. I've had my ears full. FYI, i'm still in the dark concerning the thing going on between you and Celia."Lucrecia and Owen sucked hard on their straws in a bid to hide their smiles whi
EIGHTEENMelinda flinged her jumpsuit on the bed. She was in that moment when she was having a last minute change of mind. "I could use some training today." She told herself as she frowned at the black-striped white cotton jumpsuit and platform heels begging to be worn. She moved towards the shutters. The rays of early morning sun called to her, 'rise with the sun.' She really did need to rise. She needed to raise the stakes and up her game, the game she had just started with the man who wanted to end Reynolds. Melinda scoffed. 'That wasn't going to happen.' She assured herself.She pulled her hair into a high pony tail. "Let's do this." She murmured. In five minutes, she was reaching for the door knob, dressed in a grey tank top and black leggings. As she opened the door, her heart did a black flip."Ajax." She gasped. Heat crept to her cheeks like the blood flowing in her veins. She had almost forgotten that her room was opposite Ajax' but that instant, she did remember his office
NINETEENCollins froze as he recognized the familiar bass. "Hello, Hec." He tried to maintain the calm on his face when he turned to see Hector's angry face. His lips were twisted in a scowl."You're the new guy huh. I figured I couldn't trust you. You're the filthy rat i've been smelling for days boy." He grabbed Collins by the collar."Watch it man." He defended himself, landing a not-so-lethal punch on his jaw, enough to keep Hector at a safe five feet away from him but not enough to get him backing down. Guin shrieked. "You can't trust me hunh? I've been in the devil's nest just so your boss, our boss can have another fill of abduction and then you just come here and see me having a little conversation with this sweet little thing and then I shouldn't be trusted?" He was getting better at keeping up his act. There wouldn't be a chance of survival should there be any slip up."Hell, I'll fix you." Hector prepared his fist to launch an attack on him. "Except you have something with
TWENTY"Wait a minute!" Ajax steamed up listening to Melinda and Lucrecia recount their experience in Westwood. The anger in his icy voice and cold stare was unmistakable. He had been on high alert when he noticed Melinda and Lu's absence within Reynolds vicinity. Concluding it as some emergency girls day out or the emergency training Mel had indulged in that morning, he decided to be calm until he listened to them say they paid a visit to Westwood. "You visited that house. Again.""It was just on impulse and it was worthwhile." Melinda replied softly. If it was his overprotectiveness speaking, she had to make extra effort in restoring his calm."Yeah, it was." Lu agreed."The hell it was." He banged his desk, standing up with such suddenness that threw Melinda off guard for a few seconds."Really, you need to calm down. We haven't even gotten to the worst part yet." Lu managed. She was unaffected by his outburst. The man was growing feelings for his P.A and his temper was a way of sh